Archives for July 2016

More than 2,500 people representing 97 nations gathered for the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) in Honolulu in June to talk about the science, conservation, management and governance of coral reefs. I would love to say that ICRS filled me with a sense of optimism about the state of reefs. However, the truth is that corals face a dire future unless we act now at both global and local scales.
At a global scale, rising carbon dioxide levels are heating our planet. The recent El Niño, along with elevated temperatures, is causing widespread and devastating bleaching around the world. Dr. David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Marine Park Authority, shared how much of the GBR has been impacted by cyclones over the past decade. Recently, unusually warm water bathed the untouched northern part of the GBR, causing severe bleaching of over 80% of the corals and an estimated 35% mortality rate.
At a … [Read more...]

For many of us, coral reefs are vacation destinations; places we feel lucky to visit. We plan our trip and packing lists carefully, and bring clothes and sunscreens to protect our skin from the intensity of the equatorial sun, but as we reported in January, sunscreen is not as safe for corals as we once thought.
This June, many of the world’s top coral reef scientists met at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Hawaii to discuss the challenges facing coral reefs. Sunscreen and other personal care product ingredients were hot topics. Of particular concern to scientists was oxybenzone, a chemical used in sunscreens to protect our skin from damaging UV light. Oxybenzone is bad news for corals, harming them by;
Increasing a coral’s susceptibility to bleaching
Damaging coral DNA which interferes with reproduction
Causing deformities and growth anomalies
Disrupting a coral’s hormonal processes for growth and … [Read more...]